• Residents gathered at the Stouffville Legion on Nov. 11 for this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony.
  • Twenty wreaths were laid at the town’s cenotaph by representatives from local governments, the Métis Nation, schools, emergency services, organizations, and businesses.
  • Oscar Peterson Public School students placed poppies in honour of Stouffville’s fallen soldiers.
  • This Remembrance Day may be the second-to-last held at the Legion as the Town plans a new Memorial Park commemorative space for 2026.
  • Other commemorative projects include new Remembrance Day banners, street naming, and the installation of a donated Leopard Tank at the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum.
  • Stouffville is also collaborating with Aurora and King Township on the 100th-anniversary celebration of Aurora’s cenotaph.
  • Bullet Point News spoke with Rob Braid, Stouffville’s Commissioner of Community Services, about the Town’s efforts to honour past and present service members.

 

Residents filled the Stouffville Legion’s parking lot for this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony. After marching in, the Colour Party stood at attention, and the National Anthem was sung by all in attendance.

“Let us pause to think reverently of those who—by land, by sea, and by air—laid down their lives for their sovereign and their country,” Cheryl Hogg, President of Stouffville Legion, said before a moment of silence. “Their sacrifice will ever inspire us to labour on until the end, and that the country in which we live and they died for will ever be worthy of the sacrifice they made.”

Flags were lowered, and a solemn ceremony began to honour fallen heroes, veterans, and active-duty service members. Twenty wreaths were laid at the town’s cenotaph on behalf of the Stouffville, Ontario, and Canadian governments, the Métis Nation, and local schools, emergency services, organizations, and businesses.

Poppies were also laid by Oscar Peterson Public School students to commemorate Stouffville’s fallen, and veterans in attendance were recognized by the crowd with applause.

The event is likely the penultimate Remembrance Day ceremony to be held at the Stouffville Legion, as the Town looks to 2026 for a new commemorative space in Memorial Park. Located just south of the Lawn Bowling Club, the new space will include Stouffville’s cenotaph and host future Remembrance Day gatherings.

Originally planned for the southwest corner of Park and Booth Drives, the memorial area was also intended to include a donated Leopard tank from the Department of National Defence (DND). Following extensive public consultation, the Town decided instead to place the tank at the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum.

Bullet Point News spoke with Rob Braid, Stouffville’s Commissioner of Community Services, about the project and other commemorative efforts being undertaken.

“When this whole conversation first came forward, the tank made up a significant part of the new commemorative space,” Braid explained. “Without the tank, it was going to look a bit sparse. So we would like to take another look at how to best repurpose that area.”

Through that work, Braid hopes to create a reflective environment that includes gardens, benches, and other memorial elements.

“We now have some different things we can do with respect to how people can walk in and approach the cenotaph,” Braid said. “I would also like to explore the opportunity for some type of obelisk that will really define that space.”

Stouffville is also working with Aurora and King Township for the 100th-anniversary celebration of Aurora’s cenotaph. The monument was constructed in 1925 through a collaboration among Aurora, King, and the former municipality of Whitchurch. It is located in Aurora’s War Memorial Peace Park at 14659 Yonge Street and pays tribute to World War I service members from all three municipalities.

Town Staff are part of the organizing committee for next year’s anniversary event. Outdoor, online, and travelling exhibits will be created alongside the celebration, with the latter being hosted by the Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum.

“The exhibit will explore how all three municipalities came together to memorialize those who made the ultimate sacrifice during the First World War,” Braid added, noting that Staff will be focused on contributing Whitchurch-Stouffville’s service and memorial history throughout the process.

New Remembrance Day banners are also set to replace those flown along Main Street every November. They will feature local service members from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, with plans to expand the content and number of banners displayed.

The Street Naming Committee is working to further honour Stouffville soldiers, as well. The Town will increase the number of streets named after local veterans, and new sign designs will include a poppy and QR code linking to their history.

While the tank’s delivery timeline will be more clear once a Memorandum of Understanding between the Town and DND is finalized, Museum Staff are planning to incorporate educational elements in the future installation. Additional programming will also be considered to enhance the commemorative aspect of the tank and recognize those who served.

“As the years pass, it is vitally important for Stouffville to do everything we can to make Remembrance Day a meaningful time of honouring the ultimate sacrifice Canadian forces made for the freedoms we take for granted today,” Mayor Lovatt said in comments to Bullet Point News. “These projects are important initiatives to ensure we will never forget.”